Promoting Citizenship Education with Structured Controversy in Indonesian Higher Education Presentation and Structured Controversy Workshop

Indonesian democracy is rich in traditions, religions, cultures, and ethnic languages. To keep the nation unified with diversity, Indonesia must prepare its citizens with skills of perspective taking, constructive debate, and evidence-based reasoning to engage in a robust democracy. Historically, a rigorous study of the Liberal Arts held promise for creating a strong democracy and a well-educated citizenry. Currently, politicization of the term “Liberal Arts ” attracts unjustifiable criticism and diverts attention away from a serious comprehensive study of literature, science, the arts, history, and mathematics. Narrowness in education of students toward technical and professional degrees appears not to align with the Indonesian goal of Unity in Diversity. The term Citizenship Education is proposed to encompass learning outcomes and skills honed through a student-centered rigorous study of the Liberal Arts in Indonesian higher education. When instructors structure student-centered academi